Ohio Facial Recognition Database Went Live in June, Citizens Not Told

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (pictured) announced at a press conference today that a facial recognition database with access to Ohio driver’s licenses photographs and mug shots went live back on June 2.

The new system compares driver’s license photos and police mug shots to any image, notes Cincinnati.com.

Anyone with access to the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway can find home addresses, driver’s license and social security numbers.

"If we find something [wrong], we would change it, and if we find something alarming, we would shut it down," DeWine told Cincinnati.com.

However, for all of DeWine's assurances, he didn't know that the system had gone live on June 2.

Tom Stickrath, head of Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said that unidentified IT workers and officials working on the new system turned it on without getting DeWine’s permission.

In a statement, ACLU of Ohio Associate Director Gary Daniels said: “This system needs to be shut down until there are meaningful, documented rules in place to keep this information secure, protect the privacy of innocent people, and prevent government abuse of this new tool."